Strange Seeds Appear to Be Growing Into Massive Black Holes
Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope have observed mysterious "little red dots" in the early universe. A new paper proposes these are rapidly-forming "overmassive" black holes, emitting light as they accrete material, and could evolve into the quasars also detected by the telescope. This research offers a potential explanation for the origins of supermassive black holes.
Why it matters
This discovery could fundamentally change our understanding of how supermassive black holes form and evolve in the early universe, providing crucial insights into cosmic history and the structure of galaxies.
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For years now, scientists have been puzzled by the existence of “little red dots ” first showing up in observations by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. These objects appeared in a region they believe dates to just hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang, one of the oldest known neighborhoods of the universe.
Several possible explanations have since emerged, with some arguing they could be emerging galaxies. Others suggested that the red dots could be the earliest stages of supermassive black holes, which are enormous cosmic objects that have gravitationally collapsed and are often lurking at the center of galaxies.
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